The Familiar Dog
by abbiethehufflepuff
Summary: AU-Prequel to The Family We Need. Maisie met Sirius three times her third year, but only once did she find out who he was. ****Three-Shot from Maisie's POV
1. After Aunt Marge

I ran. Ran as fast and as far as I could with my trunk dragging behind me. I was crying, though I had no idea why.

I think the gravity of the situation finally sunk in. I was homeless. Fantastic.

They wouldn't let me back in their house. Not like they wanted me there in the first place, though.

 _I could go to Ryan's_ , I thought, but quickly decided against it. It was getting late, and I didn't want to bother them.

I was tired, out of breath, and physically drained. How much stuff do I have in my trunk, anyway?

I sat down on the sidewalk and rested my head on my knees.

I heard a noise from across the street in the bushes. A big, black dog came out of the bushes. It looked like it was...staring at me? I stood up, ready to run at any time.

The dog ran across the street to me, happily barking and jumping at me. I laughed a little.

"Hey", I greeted him. I knelt down and started to pet him. "You must be lonely out here, huh?"

I swear it nodded at me.

The dog stepped closer and snuggled against me, licking my face. "Hey!", I exclaimed, giggling.

Just then, I realized my wand had fallen out of my pocket. I reached down and grabbed it, stretching my arm as well.

All of the sudden, a huge, purple double-decker bus pulled up, and the dog ran off.

I took the bus-the Knight Bus, it's apparently called-to the Leaky Cauldron.

I wonder what happened to that dog.


	2. A Normal Weekend

I caught up to Ginny and Luna as they were on their way outside. "Hey", I greeted.

"Hi, Maisie", Luna replied. "Have you seen all the Wrackspurts around the school? Well, I guess you can't really see them. But they're there."

I smiled; I love Luna. "Hm. I don't think I've noticed them either way. Hey, Ginny."

"Hey", she replied. We heard something moving by a tree. "What was that?"

A black dog-a very familiar black dog-came out. No, it couldn't be the same one.

I walked over to it slowly. "Maisie, don't!", Ginny warned me. "It looks like a-a Grim."

"Come on, Gin", I replied. "It's just a normal dog. Oh, look, he's so thin!" I could _see_ this dog's ribs!

I knelt down and pet him, and he snuggled against me. I froze.

This _was_ the same dog. Did it follow me? If so, why? Just then, I noticed something about the dog's eyes.

They were so...human-like. It was kind of creepy, honestly. I stood up quickly, and the dog whimpered, asking me to come back to him.

"Maisie, are you okay?", Ginny asked. I nodded. "Yeah. I'm going to go back to the dorm...I have a lot of homework to do." I walked past them quickly, avoiding their eyes.

Professor Lupin was walking the other way when he saw the, apparently, nervous look on my face.

"Are you alright?", he asked me kindly. I nodded.

"Yeah, I just don't feel very well." He nodded, although I could tell he didn't believe me.

I'm not a very good liar.

I quickly walked away, trying to clear my head.


	3. After The Shrieking Shack

I followed McGonagall as she led me to Dumbledore's office. I asked her what this was about, but all she said was, "There's someone who'll explain that better than I can". What did that mean?

I didn't even know what was going on, but I was still nervous.

I stepped onto the spiral staircase. When I got up, I knocked on the door and I heard Dumbledore tell me to come in.

When I walked in, I saw the dog. _The same dog!_

"Ah, Miss Potter", Dumbledore greeted me. I smiled, my eyes meeting his for a second before I looked back at the dog.

"I believe this dog has been following you?", Dumbledore asked with a smile.

I nodded. _How the heck did he know that?_

"Well", he continued, "there is, in fact, a good reason for that." He looked at the dog and nodded.

In a split second, the dog transformed into a man. The man who had wanted posters everywhere looking for him. The man who had been the first to ever escape Azkaban.

Sirius Black.

My eyes widened and I looked at Dumbledore for help. He nodded reassuringly. _Are you mad?!_ , I thought. But, there _was_ something familiar about the man.

Sirius didn't say anything for the longest time. We were waiting for each other to start, it seemed.

Without a word, Dumbledore left, leaving the two of us alone. Sirius stepped closer to me, and I had to fight every instinct in me to not step back.

"Maisie", he said quietly. "I'm sorry if I scared you when I was following you...I just had to see you."

 _Creepy_. He seemed to read my thoughts and chuckled.

"Oh, sorry. When you were born, your parents named me your godfather. You were my only thought all these years-the real reason I escaped."

"I am?", I asked. Sirius nodded.

"I'm sure you've heard it before, but you look just like your mother", he shook his head. "But your eyes-"

"My father's eyes", I finished for him. He smiled at me.

We talked for a while and he told me about why he was in Azkaban in the first place, how Ron's rat was Peter Pettigrew, and how Pettigrew had gotten away that night.

Dumbledore walked in once again. "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but, Sirius, I'm afraid you'll have to go soon."

Sirius nodded and motioned me closer to him. I stepped closer and he wrapped his arms around me. I'd only ever been hugged like this by Mrs. Weasley, but this felt so much better.

"I'll write, okay?", he whispered, "And I'll find a way to see you." I felt my eyes start to water.

Sirius left the room, turning around once to smile at me. I smiled back and watched as the door closed behind him.

Dumbledore saw my eyes shining but didn't mention it.

"If you would like", he said, "You may go see Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger in the Hospital Wing. I'm sure they'd like to see you."

I nodded and walked towards the door.

"Professor?", I said before I left. "Yes?", he asked.

"Thank you."

With that, I left, fiercely wiping my eyes as I went to see Ron and Hermione.

 _I'll find a way to see you._ Everything in me wanted that to be true.

 **Thanks for reading!**


End file.
